Darkness
by Queenofthebuckets
Summary: Being deaf wasn't too bad, so long as you can see. But when you lose your sight as well there's no way to take care of yourself. Hearthstone learns how difficult that is when a monster temporary makes him blind, leaving him cut off and in silent darkness
1. Chapter 1

Hearthstone quickly scrambled out of the way as a tree was thrown at him, ducking down behind some rocks. The troll had come out of nowhere and attacked them, probably smelled the god blood in Magnus or Blitzen. Hearth peeked over the rocks to see where the other two were, Magnus darting around trying not to get stepped on as Jack hacked at the troll's legs, the sword having some trouble cutting through all the thick skin and fat and muscle. He scanned the clearing to see where Blitzen had ended up, finally spotting the dwarf struggling to untangle himself from the branches of a tree, having been knocked up there by the troll failing its thick arms around, blood dripping down his forehead. Hearth grit his teeth as he felt rage bubbling up in his chest at the sight of Blitzen injured, grabbing his bag of runes as he considered which one would finish off the troll quickly but also very painfully.

He decided on Thurisaz, the rune of Thor, that'd take care of this beast. But he'd need to get closer to use it. Luckily the troll was distracted with trying to shoo Jack away and step on Magnus, giving the elf a chance to dig the rune out of his bag and jump back over the rocks. He dodged and weaved, ducking under the trolls failing arms to slam the rune into the monster's stomach. The trolls let out a gargling cry of pain before suddenly exploding in a bright flash of light, knocking them back, leaving nothing but a crater and the smell of burnt flesh behind. Magnus slammed into a tree as Jack arched through the air before stabbing into the ground, Hearthstone landing in some bushes. Blitzen fell out of the tree before scrambling up onto his feet, clutching the deep cut on his forehead as he stared at the crater and then looked over at Hearthstone.

"Holy shit buddy, that was awesome"

He called out to him as the elf sat up, edging around the smoking hole over to the other two. Magnus pushed himself up and helped Jack pull out of the ground.

"A little heads up next time might be nice Señor"

The sword grumbled, runes on his blade flashing in annoyance. Magnus ignored him and walked over, meeting Blitzen half way around the crater.

"Here let me fix that"

He said as he easily healed Blitzen's wound before looking over at Hearthstone.

"Hearth, are you alright? Did you break anything?"

He asked but the elf didn't answer, a frown on his face as he stared forward, blinking rapidly. He rubbed at his eyes furiously, shaking his head. Blitzen frowned with worry at his odd behavior and walked over to him, crouching down.

"Hearthstone?"

He frowned worriedly, going to touch his shoulder. Hearth jerked away from him, looking around wildly.

" _Who's there? Why's it so dark?"_

He signed quickly continuing to stare around with wide unfocused eyes. Blitzen froze in shock and quickly grabbed Hearthstone's shoulder, who flinched at the sudden contact but quickly relaxed as he recognized Blitz's strong hands.

"Magnus, Kid, he needs some of those healing powers of yours"

The dwarf said quickly as he glanced back at him, Hearth clinging to him as he rubbed his eyes with his other hand, as if he was hoping to just rub the blindness away. Magnus quickly hurried over and knelt next to them.

"Whats wrong?"

He asked, hands already glowing as he looked Hearthstone over, not seeing any obvious bleeding or broken bones.

"I'm not really sure, but something's wrong with his eyes"

Blitzen answered, freaking out a bit as Hearthstone started to sign rapidly again, confused and panicked.

" _I can't see Ican'tseeIcan'tseeIcan'tsee"_

He kept signing over and over again as his breathing picked up and tears gathered in his eyes, feeling totally lost and helpless. Magnus grabbed his hands, not something he'd normally do to the deaf spell caster, but he needed to sign to him against his hands so he'd be able to feel each sign.

" _Try to heal you, be calm"_

He signed slowly and clearly as Hearthstone shook slightly before moving his hands up to gently press hands over his eyes, focusing on surging his healing energy into him. But this wasn't a physical or mental wound, there was nothing he could for him. Magnus pushed a little longer before pulling his hands back and shaking his head.

"I-I can't fix it"

He stuttered as he looked up at Blitzen.

"What no, this can't be permanent, there's got to be a way to fix him"

He said, starting to panic as Hearthstone rubbed at his eyes again, letting out quiet whimpers, making the dwarf even more freaked out, used to him being constantly silent.

"Mm looks like what you got there is a classic blinding spell, that troll probably used it when he got too close"

Jack hummed, the sword having hovered over, bladed tilted down towards them. Blitzen looked up at him desperate for a solution

"If it's a spell there has to be some way to reverse it, right?"

He said hopefully but the sword tilted from side to side in lieu of having shoulders to shrug.

"Nah, you just have to wait for it to go away, a few days, maybe like a week at most. It's just a simple defense spell"

Blitzen bit his lip worriedly, at least it wasn't permanent but still... Hearthstone was shaking in his arms, clutching the front of his vest as tears gathered in his eyes. He hated seeing him like this, Hearth usually so strong and in control of his emotions. He pulled one of the elf's hands off his vest so he could trace words slowly on his palm, having no other way to communicate with him

" _Temporary... only last... few days..."_

He traced the letters one by one, Hearth slumping limply against him once he was done, relieved it wasn't permanent but still fearful by the thought of having to spend so much time totally helpless. Blitzen held onto him tightly, not sure what to do, just going to be stuck waiting for the spell to go away.

"If... If there's nothing we can really do, I'm just going to take him home. There's no way he can fight like this"

The dwarf muttered as he scooped Hearthstone up bridle style, the pale man clutching tightly to him. Magnus nodded as he stood as well, taking Jack's hilt and flinching as he felt the strain of hacking at the troll but thankfully wasn't enough to make him pass out.

"Yeah, don't want him to get hurt"

He sighed with a worried frown, feeling pretty bad his healing powers couldn't help.

"I'll drop by tomorrow, see if I can't find any cure in Valhalla"

Magnus suggested, Blitzen nodding as he let out a sigh, Hearth pressing his face into the crook of his shoulder, the dwarf feeling the wetness of tears soaking his clothes.

"Alright... See you then kid"

He said as he shifted his grip on Hearthstone and headed back through the woods to return to Nidavellir, feeling like the next few days were going to be rough on him and especially his elf...


	2. Chapter 2

Hearthstone had stopped crying by the time they got back to their shared apartment, only letting out those little shuddering breathes that everyone gets after crying hard. It was hard to tell where he was or how much time had gone by with only touch and smell left of his senses. All he had left was the feeling of Blitzen's arms around him, his face buried in the dwarf's chest. He hated this, he felt so weak and helpless, unable to communicate, do magic, or even more basic things. He couldn't take care of himself at all like this. Blitz tried to put him down on the couch but he refused to let go, clutching even tighter to him in fear. He couldn't be alone right now, wouldn't be able to handle it. Holding onto the dwarf was the only thing keeping him grounded in reality.

Blitz stumbled as Hearth pulled him down onto the couch, getting his balance before bringing his hands up to gently touch his face and run his hands through his soft white hair. He wanted to comfort him but he couldn't communicate to him, restricted to tracing words one letter at a time. All he could do was hold his elf tightly, wiping away his tears and peppering his face with kisses as he tried to calm him down. Hearth pressed into his hands, turning his face to nuzzle his palm.

" _Please don't let go"_

He signed, making Blitzen's heart seize in his chest with pity

" _I won't…. promise"_

He traced back on Hearth's chest before the elf wrapped his arms around him, holding onto the shorter tightly. They fell asleep like that, Blitzen laying on top of him with his hands running through his hair, Hearthstone pressing his face into his shoulder and clutching the back of his vest.

When Hearth woke up he was jarred by the darkness, feeling very disconnected from everything. He shifted slightly and realized Blitzen had moved him in his sleep, the familiar feeling of the warm sun bed instead of the soft couch. He wasn't looking forward to trying to figure out how to go about his day with no sight, but he didn't want to lay here all alone with only his thoughts. After a minute he pushed the lid open and sat up before attempting to stand, and immediately slipped and smacked his head on the floor. He lay there in a stunned daze as he felt the vibrations of hurried footsteps coming towards him and then Blitz's hands carefully pulling him into a sitting position, the dwarf having heard the thump of him hitting the ground from the other room.

" _You ok?"_

He traced rapidly on his palm, and Hearth could easily imagine the worried look on his face. He just nodded as he rubbed his head, feeling embarrassed and ashamed he couldn't even handle getting out of bed in this state. Blitzen's grip on him relaxed a bit and he rubbed a hand over his back before helping him up onto his feet and guiding him to the couch. He got his elf to sit down but kept his hands on him to let him know he was right there with him. He rubbed his hands over his shoulders and back as Hearthstone pulled his knees to his chest, looking very small and gloomy. It hurt to see him like this, reminding Blitz of when he'd first met Hearth. It was jarring to see him scared and weak like this, and hurt even more not being able to do much to help him. He shook himself out of it, needing to focus on what he could do for the elf instead of what he couldn't.

" _Hungry?"_

He traced on Hearthstone's palm questioningly. The pale man hesitated but then nodded. He didn't really feel like eating but it would give him a distraction from feeling so cut off from everything and trapped in his own head.

" _Be back, try to be fast"_

Blitzen traced before getting up, leaving him alone on the couch as the other went to whip up some breakfast for him. Hearth sat there with his knees pulled to his chest, finding it so hard to tell time and keep calm with no sight. Luckily Blitz wasn't gone long, returning with a delicious smell of fresh waffles that had the elf sitting up a bit. But then he faltered as he realized he wasn't sure how he was going to eat without sight, least not unless he wanted to make a huge mess. Blitz seemed to have realized this as well and gently cupped the taller's face with one hand as he took the fork and cut off a bite of waffle before bringing it up and nudging it against Hearth's lips. Hearthstone felt his face burn a deep green in embarrassment but opened his mouth, letting the dwarf feed him.

" _I'm sorry… I'm just a burden"_

Hearthstone signed gloomily when Blitzen had finished feeding him, making him falter. He quickly grabbed his elf's hand and traced back

" _Not true"_

Hearth just pulled his hands away, curling in on himself even more

" _Is too… I don't know why you bother with me"_

He sighed stubbornly, his long ears drooping sadly. Blitz froze, having so much he wanted to say, needed to say, about how much he loved and cared for Hearthstone. But he couldn't, not with being restricted to just tracing one letter at a time. All he could do was take Hearth's face in his hands and pull him down into a passionate kiss, desperately trying to put all the things he wanted to say into it. The elf stiffened in surprise, not expecting that response, before hesitantly returning the kiss as he wrapped his arms around Blitzen's shoulders. He rubbed his thumb over Hearth's cheek as he moved a hand down to trace letters on his chest.

" _Love you… Not leaving…"_

He traced over and over again as he felt the wetness of tears run down Hearthstone's face.

The next week dragged out painfully slow, each day making Hearth more depressed and Blitzen more desperate for some way to fix it, feeling more like a month than a week. Magnus dropped by a few times, mostly on his own, once or twice with Sam and Alex. He was clearly feeling pretty bad about not being able to help with his healing powers and was still trying to find some short cut to reverse it, but he was coming up empty. There was absolutely nothing that could be done besides waiting for him to get better. Hearthstone had gone from following Blitzen around the apartment to just laying on the couch all day, only moving when the dwarf made him get up to take care of himself. His already unstable mental health plummeted the longer this went on, hating being so helpless and feeling trapped in his own head.

Blitzen didn't know how else he could help him besides trying to comfort him with lots of physical contact, slightly frustrated with how limited their communication was but there was nothing else they could do. But after a week he was seriously starting to worry Jack had been wrong and it was permanent, panicking at the thought. He couldn't let Hearthstone stay like this, he'd have to find a way to fix it. But he didn't want to leave his elf in this state either, so he was stuck. Magnus was still looking for a cure but it was a bit frustrating not being able to do anything. He sighed tiredly as he looked over at Hearthstone, who was laying on his side on the couch, unseeing eyes staring straight ahead. He wished he could offer better comfort to him. The dwarf walked over to him and nudged at his shoulder, grabbing one of his hands

" _Sleep in my bed tonight?"_

He traced on his palm, having gotten faster and better at tracing letters in the past few days. Hearth didn't respond, but he rolled over and pushed himself onto his feet, leaning on Blitzen. He guided the taller back to his bedroom and helped him lay down before leaving for a minute to change into pjs. Hearthstone hadn't moved when he came back, limp and still. It was heartbreaking. Blitz pulled the blankets back and slid into bed next to him, pressing close as he gently touched his face. Hearth still didn't react but light green tears were gathering in his eyes.

" _Blitzen… What if I'm stuck like this?"_

He signed as the dwarf wiped away his tears.

" _I'd stay with you"_

Blitzen traced back on his chest, as he pressed even closer, gently kissing him. That response just made Hearth let out a sob and cry harder, clutching onto the shorter tightly. Blitz wrapped his arms around him, rubbing his back and running his fingers through his hair as he nuzzled his shoulder, tears pricking his own eyes.

When Hearthstone woke again he didn't bother opening his eyes, just pressing closer to the warm body next to him and wishing he was still asleep. He didn't want to live through another day unable to do anything. He felt Blitzen shift in bed next to him, rolling over and gently touching his face. He sighed and nuzzled his boyfriend's hands before opening his eyes to let him know he was awake, only to freeze in shock as the darkness he'd grown accustomed to the past few days was gone, seeing blurry shapes and colors. He blinked quickly and his eyes came into focus, seeing Blitzen's face in front of him with a worried look on the dwarf's face. He looked so stressed and tired, bags under his eyes and normally sleek hair fuzzy and unkempt. The past week must have been hard on him too… Hearth was overwhelmed with relief and gratitude for having the dwarf in his life, the only thing he could was grab him by the front of his pj shirt and kissing him passionately.

Blitzen let out a surprised sound against his lips, too startled by the sudden affection to kiss him back. Hearthstone had a huge grin on his face as he pulled back a bit, so happy to be better and get to see Blitz's face again, the dumb surprised but pleased look on his cute face an added bonus.

" _I can see again, My eyes are better!"_

He signed quickly with excitement and Blitz's eyes widened in understanding

"Oh thank the gods, I was so worried for you"

He said as he sat up and wrapped his arms around him, squeezing him in a tight hug. Hearthstone hugged him back for a minute before pushing back a bit so he could sign to him.

" _Did you mean it? What you said last night?"_

He signed as he stared at his face, so happy to get to see him again. Blitzen blinked and frowned a bit

"Of crouse I did, I'm not going to just leave you. I love you, my silly elf"

He said with total conviction, making Hearth flush a bit.

" _I love you too, dork"_

He signed back before practically tackling the shorter in a hug and kissing him lovingly, eyes wet again but with happy tears this time.


End file.
